Report by Chip Crain
Chip Crain takes a weekly look at the NBA teams in the Southwest Division - Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs - and breaks down what happened the week before and what to expect in the week ahead, as well as injuries and trades.
Recap Rewind: The Mavs faced a tough schedule last week and it was put up or shut up time for the new look Mavs with Jason Kidd. The deafening silence from Dallas should tell you all you need to know about how the week went. It opened with the Lakers who were short Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. The Mavs fought back from a 21 pt halftime deficit and a 25 pt hole in the 3rd quarter to actually make the game rather exciting down the stretch but Dirk ducked under an out of control Laker defender instead of drawing the foul at the end of the game and his off balance three pt shot missed badly as Dallas fell 100-102.
Next up was Boston playing in Big D as the 3rd leg of their Texas road trip. No team had won all three games in a road trip through Texas since the Sacramento Kings in 2001. Dallas fought hard but Ray Allen hit a 3 pt shot with 1:17 left to put Boston up 94-90. That ended up being the final score as Dallas fell to 0-7 against teams with winning records since the Jason Kidd acquisition. Dallas ended the week on a severe down note as they fell to the San Antonio Spurs 88-81 and lost team leader Dirk Nowitzki in the process to a high ankle and knee sprain.
Notable News: The loss of Nowitzki may not only spell trouble for the Mavericks playoff chances but the career of Avery Johnson as the Dallas head coach. After a red-hot start as coach Johnson’s star is dimming in Dallas and the rumor is that he won’t be retained even if the team does qualify for the playoffs. With Dallas unable to defeat teams with winning records and Denver chomping at their chaps less than two games behind in the standings for the last playoff spot, confidence is not riding high in Dallas.
Fast Forward: After a difficult week Dallas is looking forward to Tuesday nights battle against the LA Clippers who have apparently decided to call it in for the rest of the season. Dallas needs a victory against the lottery bound Clippers badly not just to get some confidence from playing without their leader in Nowitzki but also to have some momentum heading into the rest of the week. Dallas hits the road to play Denver on Thursday night and Golden State on Sunday night. Both teams currently trail Dallas in the standings but by less than two games.
SOUTHWEST DIVISION REPORTS
Dallas Mavericks/Houston Rockets/Memphis Grizzlies/New Orleans Hornets/San Antonio Spurs
